subject: The Value of Oprah’s Book Club on American society [print this page] In the last few decades, Oprah Winfrey has become one of them most influential public figures in the world. She is well known for her series of successful talk shows. She is also the founder of a big media corporation. Winfrey is a talented and determined woman representing millions of black women throughout America. The appearance of The Oprah Book Club has transferred the way American reads. Oprah Book Club has the power to fundamentally alter best-seller lists, Amazon rankings and many other international ranking systems. The club has over two million members and an official website for readers to share their thoughts with others on featured titles. Readers can also read excerpts and get valuable advices from the site. During the course of twelve years since first appeared on the market in 1996, Oprah Book Club has increased the sales of any books endorsed by Winfrey five times. That is to say, Winfrey can turn a little known book into a best-seller one just be listing it in the Oprah Book Club collection. After a suspension of the club in 2002 due to some criticism about her selections, Oprah Winfrey has corrected it and revived the segment the following year with a fresh format and began to focus on literary works. However, now she has returned her preference to contemporary works, beginning in 2005 with A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. The Oprah Book Club has changed the way American reads books. It has revived the populations love for personal act of reading. Winfrey has utilized her talk show and her internet website to promote her book club. Some people say her selections are sometimes quite sentimental and melodramatic, but in general, they have helped lots of people keep track of the best books. Many people develop their reading habits because they admire Winfrey. This is a very good initiative to spread the reading habits to as many people as possible.
